Licensed practical nurses, or LPNs, work in hospitals and a variety of other environments, including nursing facilities, doctors' offices and patients' homes. All LPNs must complete approximately one year of training and pass a national exam to become licensed. Once licensed, an LPN working in a hospital receives higher pay on average than an associate's degree graduate. However, other LPNs earn even more on average than hospital nurses.

Average and Range of Pay

The pay of LPNs in all industries averaged $42,400 in 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages ranged from $30,970 or less for the lowest-earning 10 percent to $57,360 or more for the top-earning 10 percent. These high earners received more than the average salary with a bachelor's degree, which came to $55,432 per year. Approximately 75 percent of LPNs worked full time as of 2010.

General and Surgical Hospital Pay

In some states, licensed practical nurses are known as licensed vocational nurses, or LVNs. General medical and surgical hospitals employed 124,400 LPNs and LVNs in 2012, or approximately 17 percent of the total, according to the BLS. Their average pay was $19.87 per hour or $41,330 per year, less than the average for all LPNs. By comparison, all workers with associate's degrees averaged $40,820 annually in 2012, less than hospital LPNs.

Specialty Hospital Pay

The BLS surveys the wages of employees at psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals separately from those of general hospitals. In the case of LVNs and LPNs, however, specialty hospital pay was an almost identical $41,320 per year in 2012 -- only $10 less than in general hospitals. Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals had 9,310 jobs for LPNs in 2012, bringing their total hospital jobs to 133,710.

Other LPN Industries

The largest employer of LPNs, nursing care facilities, paid an average of $43,570 annually as of 2012, according to the BLS survey. Other major industries paying higher wages included home health care, paying an average of $43,920 per year, and retirement and assisted living facilities, with average pay of $43,540 per year. However, the top-paying jobs for LPNs were with junior colleges, insurance carriers and grant-making and giving services, all of which paid average wages of more than $47,000 per year.

Pay by Location

In some locations, LPNs enjoy much higher pay than the average. Connecticut reported average wages for LPNs in all industries of $53,560 in 2012, according to the BLS. Nevada, Alaska and Massachusetts had average pay exceeding $52,000 per year for all LPN jobs, and licensed practical nurses in New Jersey averaged more than $51,000 per year. Although not among the highest-paying states, California cities led the list of top-paying metropolitan areas. Pay was highest in the greater San Francisco region, averaging $60,550 per year in 2012. In addition, LPNs in the Oakland, Salinas, Vallejo-Fairfield, San Jose and Santa Barbara areas averaged at least $57,000 per year.

Outlook

The aging of the U.S. population will contribute to a 22 percent increase in positions for LPNs and LVNs between 2010 and 2020, greater than for most jobs, predicts the BLS. More jobs will open up in hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics and doctors' offices. The retirement of current nurses will also increase the need for LPNs, creating excellent job prospects.